Pingg: Well Packaged RSVP And Invite Management
Pingg is an invite and event tool that has both flexibility and design sense. With a visually appealing interface, neither cluttered nor jarring, Pingg offers a web space to create invitations and mange your events.
To understand how Pingg can offer flexibility with design, let’s take a closer look.
Starting with Pingg is a easy. After signing in, you are prompted to name your project and pick a design. Each area of creating an event has its own section on the page, labeled and expandable so that you only have to deal with one section at a time. Since we are now picking out a design, the “Invite Design” section is open. At any time we want to visit another area or take it from view, we collapse the section with a click in the title bar. While the Invite Design section is open we can select an image or upload our own jpeg or PDF to use as a background for the invite. Pingg offers free images for your invite as well as premium images ($10 for unlimited use), searchable by event or theme.
If you have chosen your own image to upload, you will have some more elements you can customize, from text alignment and color to image orientation. Once you have selected the image you would like, you are ready to enter the details, which is conveniently under the “Event Details” section. What is new to this section are the abilities to add maps (Google Maps mashup), and send a Save the Date invite. Save the dates allow you to send a notice of the event to your guests without the need to RSVP.
Next under the section headings is the “Guest List,” where you can add guests, import addresses, and set delivery settings for your invitees. Address import options include vcard (Outlook), Gmail, Yahoo, Plaxo, AOL, eVite, Hotmail and .csv files. Delivery options for Pingg include email, sms, and print - for every guest. That means if some of your guests prefer to be contacted by sms ($1.50 for 20 sms), others by email, and a few by snail mail, you can enter the settings for each individual. As an add on to the delivery services, Pingg also offers to post your event to Twitter, and send your print invites ($1.50 per card).
Under “RSVP Options” you can send automated reminder and thank you notes, as well as set whether guests can forward invites and invite more people. The section that follows, “Event Web Page” allows you to enter messages and change settings for the invite page, including making it ad free ($5). Setting guest lists to public or private, and enabling event news are also possible under the Event Web Page heading.
“Photos and Videos” allows you to add images to the event’s web page. Pull in photo albums from Flickr (sign in with a Flickr ID), add a YouTube video (link), upload your own, and set whether your guests can upload photos all from this tab.
If your event is a shower, wedding, or gift-giving occasion, you’ll find the “Gift Registry” section useful. Add a registry with Amazon or make a charitable donation from one of Pingg’s partners (there are hundreds of causes), and if your event is one where you want to share the cost, the “Event Fund” heading allows you to collect money from guests via PayPal. Guests will see a suggested amount and pay what they feel is appropriate.
In addition to a wide range of options for invite creation and event management, Pingg has a dashboard (”My Events”) for your events at a glance, an address book and list manger (”My Lists”), and a Settings tab to enter Twitter accounts and general preferences. We would have liked to see more templates in line with Pingg’s design sense - spare but colorful - but for users looking for an invitation tool and RSVP list manager, Pingg is a strong candidate. Business users will find it to be useful, though it is a tool for social events. Find Pingg, or applications like it with the Listio search events+manage.
Previously in this series: Socializr: Invites and RSVPs With Social Tools
Next in this series: Comparing Invite and RSVP Applications: Meet With Approval, MyPunchbowl, Pingg, Socializr
Application: PinggListio Profile: http://www.listio.com/web20/app/Pingg/
Website: http://www.pingg.com
New to Listio? Our tag cloud search offers an easy way to narrow your hunt for the perfect web application or service. No more second guessing of search terms. Just click on one tag, then as many more as you'd like to narrow your search results. It's easy and ensures you get to the listing you want. Finding web 2.0 was never so easy.
Tags: email, events, invite, manage, organize
Posted in: Party Planning | Respond
Bookmark & Share: 
